On the morning of the 2nd of August, Will awoke to the deafening sound of a megaphone.

"Tom... and Will... and the rest of Lasenberg."

Snapped out of his rather peaceful sleep, Will shot up, hearing the loud, projected voice booming from the outside of the caravan. Fonda had woken up soon enough, rubbing his eyes and yawning as his ears perked up to the strange sound. Tom, who had sneaked closer to Will during the night after suffering a nightmare, instantly reached for his steel blade, which he had been keeping close to himself ever since he first got it. The last to get up were Errett and Taza, who had found a spot near the front of the caravan. Since their homes were yet to be built, everyone was forced to share this very small space. Errett put on his sunglasses before he even opened his eyes, a strange habit Will had noticed in him. Taza, on the other hand, grabbed onto a spare bronze sword and huddled in the corner, listening into the familiar voice.

The familiar voice of Dissonance.

"We... are at war."

All five Lasenbergians threw on their coats and put them over whatever clothes they had slept in the night before, stumbling out of the caravan. In the distance, beyond the walls and atop a large hill, Dissonance, Georgie and Sapana stood together, coated in steel armour and wielding their usual weapons. Dissonance, a sword in one hand and a megaphone in another. Georgie, a bow, ready to fire a deadly shot at any second. And of course, Sapana, one hand wielding a burning torch, and the other, a large, bloodied axe. They stood still, for a moment, allowing their enemies to take in their situation, allowing them to bask in the power they themselves had gathered over the past four and a half months. Even from this distance Will could feel Dissonance's twisted grin, as per usual painted across his face and barely visible under his mask.

"There is no mercy! We have burned down Taza's house..."

The mentioned boy flinched and stepped back, holding onto his arm with a strong grip. Tom was soon by his side, his hand on his shoulder, as per usual. They seemed to have developed this secret language by this point, where squeezing each other's hands or shoulders in certain manners would translate to different things. And Will was yet to learn this very language.

"We have planted cannons outside your land..."

The group watched in horror as Dissonance pointed to a large cannon, which seemed to be loaded with some sort of explosive. While they got distracted, they heard an arrow whizz pass, noticing that Georgie had fired. It lodged itself in the side of the caravan, trembling as it did. Fonda, who it had only narrowly avoided, became still with fear, his tail and ears perking up and standing tall. Will looked up at Dissonance, who giggled menacingly quiet before his voice called out once more;

"And we have now shot one warning shot inside your walls."

The five weren't sure what to do – Were Dissonance and his two companions going to attack now? Were they going to slay the five revolutionaries as they stood, then and there? Or did they have another plan, their speech being only a distraction? While Dissonance spoke, Will kept his eyes focused on the other two, Sapana and Georgie, but they seemed about as still as their leader. Tom and Taza ran off to the side and brought everyone their weapons and armours – The same ragged ones from Sot they had used four months prior, alongside a few more pieces they had purchased in-between buying all of the materials for the wall and the tools they needed. They had definitely upgraded since their last encounter with Dissonance's group – but Tom's steel sword was still the best piece of equipment they had on their side.

"We have no mercy! No mercy for you!"

As Dissonance's voice grew louder and more intense with each word, Georgie and Sapana finally began making their moves. The archer loaded another arrow and changed his position, the whole group instantly getting closer to the wall to protect themselves. Sapana, on the other hand, descended into the forest and began making his way to the gates of Lasenberg. The group began getting into formations they had planned weeks prior, trying to prepare themselves for this battle. But with it finally here and about to go down, they weren't sure if they could really handle it. Will and Tom grabbed their swords and stood up front - The President and the Vice-President, ready to defend their nation. Fonda ran back and put himself behind cover, drawing his bow. Errett and Taza provided cover for the main two defenders. And yet, no attack to defend themselves came in the first place. Dissonance simply talked on;

"We will burn down your houses! We will kill everything inside your walls and we will take back the land that is rightfully ours!"

Dissonance's tone of voice was strange - Intense, yes, but above all, it also carried a hint of something rarely seen in him. A complete loss of control of himself, where for once, the psychotic look in his eyes and the twisted smile was not an act for the sake of intimidation. It was a true display of desperation and wanting to take back what was once his, whatever the cost may be. Will's grip on his sword grew stronger, just as Tom's did. He noticed the boy was a lot more comfortable with his weapon now than he was a while ago - He had been training with it a lot. It was still clean and sharp, Fonda taking it upon himself to help the blonde take care of it properly, but it had definitely lost the glow it once had when displayed under the sun. Any moment, the two expected Sapana to come out the corner, or for Georgie to fire at them. But nothing happened. They stayed still and silent, and the only sound around them was Dissonance's voice booming through their land;

"If you do not surrender- I WANT TO SEE WHITE FLAGS!"

Dissonance cut himself off, his shouts turning into an aggressive yell. The sound was deafening, high pitched noises escaping the megaphone as the man's threats got out of hand. His tone of voice only continued spiralling down more as he shouted out more and more violent things, his eyes invisible under his mask and unable to be read fully. Georgie and Sapana had by this point disappeared from sight completely, fading behind the great walls the nation had struggled to build for so long. Will backed up slightly, his fighting stance easing and his grip on his sword becoming loose once more. He could see what was happening - Waking them up so early, forcing them into their armour and leaving them dazed and confused. Dissonance's group wasn't making their first attack, no. They were simply intimidating them into showing them their best. And from the grin on Dissonance's face when he spoke his final lines, he could tell that they had not impressed him.

"WHITE FLAGS, INSIDE THE WALLS, BY TOMORROW, AT DAWN, OR YOU ARE DEAD!"

And with these final words, Dissonance dropped the megaphone and allowed it to tumble down the hill on which he stood. The group watched as Georgie and Sapana emerged, pleased smirks on their faces as all three made their way away from Lasenberg. The group was left in shambles. Will stood tall, trying to keep his cool and not lose himself because of the panic. Tom was standing by him, his grip still strong and his knuckles turning white from the pressure he was putting on the handle. He was trembling slightly, but his angry eyes did not move away from the hill for a single moment. Errett let go of his weapon and sat down on the floor, his gaze absently focusing on the grass below. Still, he kept his eyes covered. Taza tried to keep his tears at bay, turning away and focusing on something else. Fonda seemed to be the only one neither shocked nor scared - He simply lowered his weapon, stood still for a moment, and then walked closer to his father in silence.

"...He wants to see flags?", Tom whispered after a moment, stabbing his weapon into the ground and beginning to walk to the caravan.

Will tried to stop him but was pushed away, the boy's arm unusually strong.

"He wants us to wave flags, does he? Well let's give the little bitch boy a flag!"

"Tom, what are you....", Taza started, but realization answered his question for him as the boy marched out once more, holding a large, folded cloth in his arms.

He walked to a flag pole Fonda had prepared alongside all of his wooden creations, crouching down next to it.

"We're not gonna sit here... listening to that tyrant!"

The boy swiftly unfolded the cloth, revealing it to be the flag he had worked on all this time. He attached it to the flag pole and begun moving it up, continuing to shout in-between grunts of effort;

"He wants a flag... he gets a flag!"

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The higher the flag moved, the more wind blew on it, revealing it more and more. It moved gently and swayed just enough to be seen, but not enough to be ruined completely. Will had watched Tom prepare the flag but was yet to see it fully like this - Finally, he got a look at all of the elements together in one piece. There were three stripes on the flag in total - Orange at the top, white in the middle, and green at the bottom. To the left was a white half-circle with a yellow outer rim. Finally, three Xes, two green on the white stripe and one yellow one within the half circle. It was a mess, sure. A mess of colours, shapes, and none of it really made sense, but... that was what made it special. Tom made it as a representation for their nation, so who was he to judge it? It was unique, and it was special to them. It showed their union, their trust. Between Will, Tom, Taza, Fonda, and Errett, the five founders of Lasenberg.

And Dissonance could never take that away from them.

"We'll fight.", Will said eventually, with his eyes focused on the flag.

He then glanced at the group of the four revolutionaries, giving them all a good look. A fourteen year old with far too much energy, his best friend with a passion for flowers, an unlikely hero with beloved sunglasses and the President’s one and only son, unmatched with a bow.

"We'll fight for our freedom. We'll fight for independence. We'll fight together!"

"Yeah!", Tom cut in, once more lifting his sword and wiping some of the dirt from it on the edge of his sleeve.

"When they come here tomorrow at dawn, we're gonna be ready! We're gonna be armed, and we're gonna stand at our gates and we're gonna defend what's rightfully ours! No matter what they do, we're gonna fight till our last breath! That's... if... uh... the president wishes it to be that way...", Tom muttered and grabbed his shoulder awkwardly, realizing how carried away he had gotten.

Will giggled slightly.

"You seem like you have a plan of action. I guess I should start taking advice from my right hand man, huh?"

Will came closer to Tom, squeezing his shoulder tightly.

"...Hah! I guess so!"

Tom swung his sword and slashed at the air, a grin growing on his face.

"Keep up, old man! Us who actually have some years left to live are taking charge!"

"Hey! Old man? I'm not that old, you know!"

Will chased after the boy, the whole thing turning into one giant disaster of its own after a short while.

Tom ran into a tree, Taza knocked something over, Errett ended up tripping and ripping a part of his jacket. But it definitely helped – The tensions of the day seemed to ease in a single moment, with everyone chasing each other around and laughing about nothing at all. Everyone but Fonda, that is. Because Fonda looked up at the flag above, watching it sway in the wind. The flag Tom had made. He looked at the walls. The walls Tom helped to build. He watched as his father chased the vice-president around, messing around with him and playfully pushing him into the lake. The Vice-President being Tom. Fonda wasn't sure exactly why he had gotten so internally riled up over something so minor, a feeling as simple and as insignificant as plain jealousy. He didn't even realize when Taza had approached him, tapping him on the shoulder.

"Hey Fonda.", he said with a smile.

The man looked at him for a moment, his ears lowering for just a second. Taza was the one person here he felt somewhat calm around – And that was a strange thing to say, when your own father was in the area.

"You okay?"

"...Me? Oh. I'm just tired."

The man shrugged, blowing some of his hair out of his face. This wasn't entirely a lie – The sudden wake-up Dissonance had given them and the rush of adrenaline after left him with virtually no energy.

"I think I might go in and nap."

"'I'm just tired' is the number one excuse for when you're not okay, you know."

Taza came closer, clutching his arm.

"You can tell me if something is wrong. We're all in this together, right? Lasenberg can't stand tall if we're all divided."

"It's nothing."

Fonda pushed the boy's hand away and began walking towards the caravan. Taza didn't bother going after him – He knew right now the man was not comfortable enough to talk. And as Fonda passed his father, the President could not help but think he had done something wrong. He would have spoken up, of course, talked. But he soon became distracted.

Tom ran up to him and started talking, completely taking his mind off of Fonda.

"...Hey, Will?"

As with any memory, dream, or whatever was in between the two, Will doesn't know why he remembers it. But he does, and what he remembers is him and another man sitting in silence, watching the world below from a tall mountain.

"...Yeah?", he replies, his legs hanging over the cliff and swaying back and forth.

He doesn't want to admit it, but he knows that if he looks below, he'll see something awful. So he doesn't. He keeps his focus on the stars, listening to the man next to him.

"...If we don't... you know, survive this." he starts, sighing.

"And I don't wanna get cliché or some shit like that, but... you know I always cared about you, right? Despite all the characters and jokes..."

"...I mean... obviously."

Will laughs slightly.

"We're partners in crime till the end of time, right? We don't just say that because it rhymes..."

"Well, I guess we reached it."

The man looks down, and Will, although afraid, looks too. The world below is drowning – It's being consumed by a flood. And the two are forced to watch, unable to do anything about it but observe.

"End of time, Will. How does it feel?"

"It would feel a hell of a lot better with some music.", Will admits, playing with a strand of grass.

"I'm guessing you didn't grab those discs of yours when this all started, right?"

The man smirks. Will gasps.

"No way! You did?"

The man laughs as he moves his bag in front of him.

"If there's one thing I value more than money, it's these stupid-ass discs."

The man removes one.

"They've got names, right?"

Will leans forward. The man removes a second disc from the bag.

"Titles. Of the pieces recorded on them."

The man removes a third disc from the bag.

"Too bad we can't play them...", Will mutters.

The man removes the fourth, final disc from the bag.

"I remember the tune.", the man says with a proud grin.

He starts humming a familiar song.

"...Huh. You're really obsessed.", Will remarks and laughs.

"Why do you love these so much?"

"I... don't know."

The man shrugs.

"Someone very important gave them to me, long ago."

"And... do you remember who it was?", Will asks, looking at the four discs.

"No fuckin' clue, Will.", the other admits with great honesty.

And even at the end of time, the two laugh.

Will woke up with a gasp, unsure why.

Four discs. He had never seen that memory before. Never. It was always three discs, and they were always with Tom. So why now, of all times, were there four, and why now, of all times, were they with his partner in crime? He looked around for a moment, staring into the dark night, soon realizing that Tom was missing from the caravan. His sword and his bag were gone too, the two possessions he never seemed to leave behind. The man carefully stepped out, trying his best not to step on Fonda or Errett, both curled up on a pile of blankets on the floor. He finally pushed the doors open, stepping out into the cold night. The air was crisp and refreshing – But he didn't have much time to enjoy it. With the corner of his eye he spotted Tom, patrolling the woods.

"...Again, Tom? Why?"

The boy snapped his head back, his eyes wide with fear.

"I... I... I had a nightmare..."

He rubbed his eyes and yawned.

"I just... I wanted to make sure."

"The Blade won't hurt you, Tom."

Will came closer.

"We don't even know if he's real."

"...I know... I know..."

The boy sat down on the floor, taking a deep breath.

"...Wanna talk about your nightmare?", Will asked, sitting down by him.

The boy shook his head.

"Why are you awake?", he suddenly asked, causing the man to flinch.

"Same thing. I guess. But it was more of a... confusing dream.", the president admitted.

"Guess we've got something constantly in common, huh?"

Tom laughed weakly under his breath.

Will looked at the boy's tired eyes and decided he'd leave the mystery of the fourth disc to another day – For now, he decided he'd spend the night here with the boy, trying to comfort him enough to sleep. After all, they had an incredibly important day tomorrow.

And as the president silently watched the stars, he felt as though the melody of the fourth disc was being hummed right into his ear by someone very familiar.